The Last Hope for Mankind
by LoudPindrop
Summary: In a world where women are superior to men, three teenagers rise to positions of power. As the three are the only known male IS pilots in the world, the pressure is on them to be exceptional. Will they live up to the title "Last hope for Mankind"? Or will they just be forgotten as quickly as they were discovered? Infinite Stratos-verse. Follows some Canon.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys LoudPindrop here and this is my first ever fanfic on this site, so please try not to violate too much lol.**

 **That said, I am open to fair criticism as long as it's constructive.**

 **I do not own any part of Infinite Stratos. All rights go to their respective owners. Only the OCs are mine.**

 **Now on to the story!**

* * *

To say that Ichika was nervous at the moment had to be the understatement of the century.

He was sitting in the middle of an all-girls classroom, in an all-girls school, with everyone staring directly at him.

"What the hell did I do to get myself into this mess?" he muttered, anxiety etched upon his face.

 _Your one of the only dudes in the world who can operate an IS. Right. How could I forget? It's what brought me here in the first place._ He thought to himself.

 _But still! You would have thought the girls would show at least a little empathy for my situation here!_ Part of him exclaimed as the girls glared on with mixed emotions of wonder, lust, and hatred displayed in the sea of eyes around him.

Shortly after, the door opened up and a fair woman with short green hair and glasses walked in.

"Welcome! I am Maya Yamada, your homeroom teacher!"

She then went on to talk about the IS academy with gusto along with a short intro into the IS's history, but Ichika was paying little attention what with all the distractions around him.

"Okay Orimura you're up!" Miss Yamada said cheerfully, snapping Ichika out of his stupor.

 _Great here goes._ He got up and started shaking slightly and perspiring. He looked over to Houki, his childhood friend, but she just looked away when she saw him staring.

 _What got her mad?_ He wondered, before proceeding to gulp and stammer "Ichika O-Orimura n-nice to meet all of you!"

The rest of the class just proceeded to stare at him in silence.

 _Oh what should I say? If I say nothing else, they will think I'm a weird and depressing guy._ He reasoned.

Before he could gather his courage, the door came down with a crash as someone kicked it down.

Two guys stood in the doorway in- wait were those school uniforms?

The whole class was as quiet as a morgue, but Ichika's mind was racing at these new developments _wait-so I am not the only guy who can pilot an IS? I mean, I heard the rumors that there were a pair of American dudes who could, but I thought they were just that-rumors._

 _This is amazing!_ He thought starting to grin. _Now all the pressure and attention won't be on me! I'm saved!_

The dude who kicked the door down was about 5'8'' with flaming red hair and an earring in his right ear. Ichika noted that he was also pretty buff with light skin and a fierce look in his light brown eyes that somehow looked out of place with his easygoing grin. He looked pretty tough, like one of those teen guys you didn't mess with in the American movies Ichika saw when he was little. To Ichika, it almost seemed like he was enjoying the attention a bit, while still trying to look a bit bored at the same time.

His companion was even taller: around 6 feet with short black hair and a black balaclava face mask that went up past his nose. He was a bit slighter than his buddy and with tanner skin. He seemed much calmer than his energetic friend, but his eyes told a different tale. They were brown almost looking black and constantly moving, measuring, calculating. Ichika sensed that this guy was every bit as tough as his companion-maybe even more so.

Muttering started breaking out across the class too. Ichika only caught snippets of the whispering.

"…who are those two?"

"They look soo hot."

"I heard America was training two male IS pilots, they called them the last hope for mankind, or men that is." The girl behind Ichika commented.

"Some hope that is." Her friend snickered.

The class went quiet again when the pair of newcomers started to speak. The shorter guy looked up to his tall companion and said "So this is it huh? Best IS academy in the world? Sure doesn't look like much to me." Ignoring the gasps and pointed glares the girls in the class began to give him.

The tall guy looked back indifferently and said in a lower voice "We have our orders, you know what happens if we don't comply."

"Yeah, yeah the instructors kick our assess and we probably get shipped off to the Alaska base as punishment." The shorter guy rolled his eyes. "Gotta love good old fashioned black mail."

"They knew we would take this choice anyway, the advantages are obviously in our favor." The taller guy stated.

"Hmph" his companion grunted folding his arms.

Miss Yamada seemed to come to her senses at that moment, cleared her throat and said "Will the new American Representative Contenders please introduce themselves to the class?"

The taller of the two looked out to the class "You can call me Axel" and sat down at the nearest empty seat much to the disappointment of the girls, who definitely wanted to hear more.

"Smooth moves ladysman!" His friend commented sarcastically. "Now you put frowns on all their faces! Its ok girls. No need to get worked up over Mr.I'mwaytooserious there now that I'm here. My name is Tycho Rarns, the future best IS pilot in the world, and it's nice to meet all of you!

 _Well someone certainly has a lot of energy_ Ichika noted as Tycho took his seat next to Axel.

* * *

Ichika silently thanked whatever god was up there when the recess bell rang. _Okay let's review: Is my sister that I barely see any more my teacher? Check. Am I completely incapable of understanding any of the material? Check._ He looked up from the desk and saw the crowd of girls from other classes that ogled Tycho, Axel, and himself. _Looked at like some kind of alien? Check. This completely sucks_ he thought as he sighed and rested his head back on the desk.

"Hey saddo" Ichika looked up and saw Tycho leaning against a nearby wall with Axel, with whom he was formerly speaking to.

"Yeah what is it Tycho?"

"Nothing actually, I tried to think of a motivational speech to give to you, but I'm not exactly an expert at that sort of thing so I thought you'd just appreciate the manly company."

"Gee thanks" Ichika replied.

"Ichika. Success is determined by technique, commitment, and determination. A little luck always helps too. Never forget that."

"Wow Axel. It isn't like you to give out free advice. What's up buddy?" said Tycho

"…I don't know, I hope I'm not turning all sentimental all of a sudden" replied Axel

Ichika immediately felt better "Thanks guys I feel loads better right now" he said with a smile

"Yeah, well hate to burst your bubble kid but it won't last long" Tycho snickered as he pointed to a blond classmate that was headed their way with a look of fierce determination on her face.

"I need to speak with you three for a bit" she ordered in a British-sounding accent.

"I am always up for talking with a beautiful lady" Tycho said easily with a barely concealed smirk.

"This isn't a social call!" The blonde insisted, blush spreading to her cheeks.

"What I would like to know is why after all the years where IS male piloting was thought to be impossible, three male IS pilots show up together in the span of a few months! And why you" she turned to Ichika "are so horrible at basic piloting theory and why you two" turning now to Axel and a smirking Tycho "recently were announced as male pilots when clearly you've had several months training!"

"So which do you want answered first?" asked Axel.

"Start wherever you like." said the blond. "I'm Cecilia Alcott by the way Britain's Representative Contender, a pleasure."

"Hmm start wherever you like, I might take you up on that later." Tycho said with a wink.

Cecilia went beet red as she looked away and exclaimed "Ugh! Why must men be such pigs?"

Tycho's face grew serious "Well, two of your questions essentially have the same answer. Axel and I made it very clear to the people we were working with that we did not have any interest in unwanted media attention during basic training or we'd defect to another country. As for why Ichika sucks at basic piloting theory." He turned to Ichika "Why do you suck at piloting theory again?"

"It's probably cause he didn't get a course by top IS pilot instructors to gear him up for contending before he came to this school genius." said Axel

"…Oh right. But a lot of girls here have no prior experience"

"They read the manual"

The bell sounded then and Ichika and the others returned to their seats for class.

* * *

 _What a day. I'm beat._ Thought Ichika as he headed to his new room as he reflected on a very tiring day both physically and mentally.

He hoped he could room with Tycho and Axel. Despite their…unique attitudes, Ichika felt more comfortable around them, but apparently they got pulled out of school the moment class was over. Ichika wasn't sure exactly what it was, Tycho said something about a situation that happened back in the states and that they were being called to deal with it for a few days. A chopper came to pick them up after class and they took off amidst a crowd of tearful girls.

 _Oh well, more space for me I guess._ He reasoned. _Still though, I hope the girls don't harass me too much now that I am the only guy left on campus._

He entered room 1025, and saw a fairly spacious room with two beds. It looked well-lit, clean, and comfortable.

As he set his stuff down he noticed a sound he didn't hear before: the sound of running water. The sound ceased as a voice came through from the bathroom

"Oh hey so your my new roommate. Give me a minute, I was just showering I'm coming out to greet yah." the girl called.

 _Shit! I'm not alone? I'm sharing with a girl! Whose bright idea was this?_ He quickly scanned the room for a place to hide. Finding no suitable hiding place, he knew his best course of action would be to just leave and come back into the room after the girl finished changing. Before he got a chance to step to the door, the girl came out of the bathroom with nothing but a pink bath towel on.

Ichika's faced flushed red as he saw the beautiful and curvaceous form before him.

 _You can't be serious...I'm dreaming…if that's who I think it is…_ he stared in disbelief as the girl continued:

"My name is Houki Shinonono" she said tossing her hair back before she looked at Ichika with confusion and shock evident on her face.

"I-Ichika!" she stammered turning red.

With his face completely red, all Ichika managed was a nervous"Uh-huh"

Ichika then ran out of the room as Houki reached for her practice kendo blade in pursuit.

* * *

 _This school really is out to get me huh_ Ichika thought as he settled in his seat for class the next day. Eventually, Houki calmed down after the series of events last night and seemed a tad bit less angry at the breakfast table this morning.

 _Who would have thought Chifuyu was also the dorm supervisor: kind of like a resident adviser for the freshmen. No wonder she barely came home to see us_ Ichika contemplated.

He detached himself from those thoughts as Ms. Orimura spoke up "Alright class, in two weeks from today's date you will be asked to choose your representative for the class tournament. A representative attends student council, committee, and tournament meetings. I will now take nominations."

"I'd like to nominate Tycho!" squealed a girl in the back of the room.

"Ugh! No Axel for class leader!" shouted another girl.

Arguing broke out across the classroom and continued until a very distinct voice yelled "SILENCE!"

The whole class went quiet as Chifuyu sighed and looked up at the ceiling like she was wondering how the class could be so thick at times.

"Look, due to complicated circumstances, I'm afraid both Tycho and Axel are disqualified from being class reps." said Ms. Orimura to the shock of the female population.

"But why?" said one girl.

"Oh darn" said another.

"Because for one they aren't present at the moment to accept or reject the nominations. They also informed me that due to their responsibilities, it would be hard for them to carry out their duties as both reps and candidates." said Ms. Orimura. "Rest assured though, if they can, they agreed to participating in the class tournament regardless, although not representing their class, but under their own separate category."

"Well can we nominate Orimura then?" asked one girl timidly.

"I don't see why not. If there are no other nominations. He will be elected without question." Chifuyu pointed out.

"Well I for one will not stand for this nonsense!" Cecilia exclaimed as she got up from her desk.

"We are nominating boys for this? I will not just sit by and allow myself, Cecilia Alcott, to stand such humiliation for an entire school year! Just this country's under-developed level of culture gives me enough pain already. Oh the agony!"

Ichika got up now, faced her with a serious expression on his face and shot back "Yeah? Well England doesn't have many great things to offer either. How many times has it won worst-cuisine award?"

Cecilia's mouth hanged open, like she couldn't believe what he was saying before she said "We English have many delicious dishes how dare you insult my country!"

 _Isn't that what you just did to mine?_ Thought Ichika, determined not to back down.

After a delicate pause, Cecilia pointed at him and shouted "This calls for a duel!"

"Fine by me!" said Ichika

"And if you even think about losing on purpose I will make you my servant-no, I will make you my slave!"

"How much handicap?" asked Ichika curiously.

"Huh? Are you asking me for favors already?" Cecilia asked with a bit of a smile on her face.

"No I'm asking you how much of a handicap I should give you."

Laughter rolled through the classroom like thunder at his remark, as Cecilia just looked at him dumbfounded.

"He's joking isn't he?" said one girl.

"People say that if men and women had a war, it wouldn't last three days" said another.

"You know a real woman might still give you that handicap if you ask nicely" commented a girl with glasses in the middle of the class.

"And a real man never backs down on his word, I'll pass."

Ms. Orimura looked at the discussion with a smirk as she said "It's decided! Alcott, Orimura prepare yourselves for the upcoming duel. We will use arena three, which will be available this Monday. "

Houki could only stare at her childhood friend, wondering if he had made one of the stupidest decisions of his life.

 **Alright that's all for now! I would like to know how I did, so please review!**

 **Also, I was wondering if I should do any possible parings/love interests for Tycho and Axel so please leave feedback on that as well.**

 **I will be back with a new chapter as soon as I can.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys its LoudPindrop, and I'm back with another chapter.**

 **I'm off class now, so it's easy for me to update this reasonably quick.**

 **vnvizow** **: No lol she's not married in this fic, but I appreciate you pointing my mistake out! And thanks for the opinion! It means a lot.**

 **I don't own any part of Infinite Stratos. All rights reserved and all that jazz.**

 **Before I continue though, I wanted to provide some descriptions of some of the relevant IS units that will be discussed in the rest of the story:**

 **Tycho: Pilots the Akaoni. Red IS that resembles a crimson knight. Well armored with heavy plating all over the unit. Wings are similar design to that of the Blue Tears unit Cecilia uses, but in red. Green eye sockets. Green thrusters on the boots for flight acceleration. Primary weapons are Lance and Shield.**

 **Axel: Pilots the Suzumebachi. Mostly black IS with a design that resembles Silent Zephyrs, only slightly larger and covered with light armor plating. Yellow boot thrusters. Yellow highlights on very thin yet stretched out wings. Yellow eye sockets. Primary weapons are 2 black longswords and assorted missiles.**

 **Sergeant Janessa (If your like "Sorry who?" she comes up in this chapter): TBA**

 **On to the chapter.**

* * *

 _Its nights like this one that really test a man's patience and resolve._ Mused Tycho as the wind tugged on the edges of his overcoat and the snow continued to fall in earnest.

He was deployed just outside of Buffalo, New York along with Axel and a squad of American IS pilots. Intelligence had reported that the IS research facility here would mostly likely be attacked within 24 hours, determined from a string of attacks on similar sites recently. It was their job to repel the attack and capture the perpetrators for questioning.

Normally under the Alaska treaty, it would be illegal for American IS pilots to be mobilized for military purposes. However, due to these latest attacks rumored to be another criminal act by the mysterious organization known as Phantom Task, international leaders temporarily suspended part of the treaty's proclamation. They were still being monitored closely though, to ensure this temporary suspension wasn't taken advantage of.

One of the IS pilots in battle-mode rounded the corner of the compound before trudging up to Tycho and giving a hasty salute "Sir, the patrols have just had their hourly meeting. All's quiet here and all personnel present and accounted for."

Tycho gave a quick salute in turn before replying "Thanks. You may return to your rounds."

The woman took a few steps before turning back "Sir?"

"Yeah, what is it?" said Tycho absentmindedly as he pored over a holographic blueprint of the facility emanating from his wristwatch.

"Why not just message me on the com for my status?" inquired the woman.

Tycho sighed as he looked up from the blueprint before saying "Because, Sergeant the enemy IS units will most likely be equipped with frequency interceptors and jammers, enabling them to discover our defensive plans and cut off further communication. Plus, any CO worth her stripes would have already had a recon team create a pattern of our time-frame of interaction, to use to her advantage."

She nodded and Tycho finished by saying "Well, that and because having a beautiful young woman check up on you constantly isn't a half-bad way to spend the evening."

The Sergeant blushed lightly as she retorted "Sir, with all due respect, wouldn't an enemy CO have already done her homework on the enemy commander's lecherous tastes?"

"Touché" said Tycho with a small smile. "Now get back to your rounds."

"Yes sir!" She saluted and gave Tycho a quick wink before rounding the corner again and disappearing into the night.

Tycho sighed again as he watched her leave. He couldn't believe that the government would entrust him and Axel, pilots barely out of basic training, to head up one of their major IS operations. But with America's elite pilots either elsewhere or down for the count, they were the best available.

" _You don't need them"_ hissed a voice inside his head. _"Just unleash me upon your foes and I will sow destruction and carnage onto their ranks."_

 _No, Akaoni._ Tycho thought spoke to his IS. _The last time you took control of my IS you nearly leveled the place._

" _Ah yes, I remember. Forgive me, I was a bit…restless. If only we were to see combat more often…"_ Akaoni echoed in his head.

" _We train multiple times a day and have regular solo and group matches, what more could you want?"_ He shot back silencing Akaoni.

Sometimes Tycho would wonder how the others would react if they knew of his relationship with his IS. He knew all IS units had personalities of a sort, but did he really have to get a talking battle-crazed IS? He never heard other pilots disclose such a phenomenon to him. Axel knew of course. Tycho told him about it during basic training when Axel overheard him talking in his sleep. Thankfully, he kept quiet about it. If there was one thing Tycho was grateful to Axel for it was for keeping sensitive matters out of public conversation. He made a mental note to himself to ask Axel if he suffered from a similar issue the next time they had a chance to speak.

A Corporal ran up to him jarring him from his thoughts. She saluted as quickly as she could and shouted "Sir! Our anti-air probes are picking up unknown IS troop movements heading to our position. Captain Axel has requested that we meet in the compound's main lobby for a battle council immediately."

Tycho pulled up the real-time holographic monitor on his wristwatch before asking "Estimated time of Arrival?" as he eyed the red dots moving in on their location.

"12 minutes Sir." The corporal replied.

 _That's quite a long time_ Tycho noted to himself. _Their outnumbered units are taking their sweet time to get here hmm…I wonder what ace they will have up their sleeve…_

"Fine, we have time for a quick review of tactics and mission objectives before we take our positions." He said as he ran with the corporal around the corner to the facilities' main entrance out front.

" _More lambs for the slaughter"_ hissed Akaoni in glee. " _May we grind their armored suits to ashes."_ He whispered as Tycho and the corporal headed inside.

* * *

"Ichika! Focus you have to concentrate!" Houki insisted, as they squared off on the floor of the academy's kendo dojo. They were both sweating and panting a bit after an hour of intense training and sparing, Ichika more so than Houki.

"Right! Sorry!" he blurted out as he hefted his practice kendo blade once more. Inwardly, he sighed a bit. _Ever since she found out I stopped practicing, she has been working me to the bone._ He whined mentally.

 _I wonder what Tycho and Axel are doing back in America._ He thought to himself. _It's been nearly a week since they were called for whatever they were needed for. What's taking them so long?_ He wondered.

"You're doing it again Ichika! Daydreaming in a fight against me! Well, don't say I didn't warn you!" she let out a yell as she charged with her blade raised.

 _Oh crap!_ Was all Ichika could think of as he ran out of the dojo screaming "Mercy! I said mercy Houki!"

"You will get none! I'm coming for you Ichika!"

* * *

"Gather around all." Tycho spoke clearly to all the assembled pilots in the hall as Axel projected a large holoscreen onto the wall of the lobby with his watch.

"Right. So based on recent reports, we have detected 2 enemy units flying at us from the north and 2 more moving on the ground from both the east and west respectively coming up to a total of 6 units. Based on those numbers alone, I seriously doubt that's all they will throw against us." He paused and scanned around the room at the other nine pilots assembled before him.

"This is the game plan: Sergeant, you take two long ranged units and another unit of your choice and take positions on the roof of the compound. Your main priority is to eliminate the IS units approaching from the air. Once that's dealt with, assist in taking down the ground units. Axel will patrol the skies and aid with combating the air units. The rest of us will make a ring around the building and fight whatever ground troops get in our way. In the event one or two slips by us, I set up traps throughout the facility that should keep them occupied. Any questions?"

There was only silence for a spell as everyone reviewed the plan by their lonesome when one girl in the back asked "Sir, what happens if super-powerful IS units show up?" she asked timidly.

Tycho cleared his throat as many of the other pilots, save for Axel, shifted uncomfortably. He then went on to say "It depends on their power and their numbers. If I believe we do not have the power to complete the mission at hand, I will order a withdrawal. If not, then I, Axel, and your Sergeant will engage them while the rest of you lure the other units into the compound. Use the knowledge of the space and the traps placed to your advantage."

"Remember, with the elite pilots occupied, we are the last hope this country has of bringing those criminals to justice. Canada has agreed to send us a squad of reinforcements, but it will be awhile before they get here. It is up to us all to bring safety and order to our borders and the world from this threat. Now get to you positions!" he ordered.

As they all filled out, Axel passed by and said "Not bad for a guy who is terrible at giving motivational speeches." He observed.

Tycho looked back and replied "When lives are on the line, I try my best. I probably could have done better though."

"No, you were great come on." Axel said sincerely as Tycho smiled in gratitude and followed Axel out the door.

All was quiet and still around the compound as the US units waited for the enemy in their assigned positions, Axel noticed as he patrolled the skies. _Like the calm before a gruesome storm._

Suddenly he heard the whir of engines and called down to one of the pilots on the ground "Enemy air units sighted! Tell the snipers to prepare to fire" he yelled as he flew towards them to engage.

* * *

A short distance away from the compound, another pilot looked upon the scene with growing anticipation _Look at them. All so eager to start their precious battle and prove themselves to their superiors. How cute. Soon, they will learn the meaning of true terror. Not one of them shall leave here alive._ She vowed as she cackled and proceeded to wait for the go-ahead signal with barely-contained blood-lust. _And then our preliminary goals will be complete after this operation. All hail Phantom Task!_

 **And that's all for now, mostly a setup chapter for the coming battle.**

 **Yes, I cut it short just as things were getting interesting, I know. I figured to dedicate a separate chapter for the fight sequence. It should be worth the wait.**

 **Please review, it makes for one happy and motivated writer.**

 **Until my next update!**


	3. Chapter 3

**LoudPindrop here. Sorry for the delay, my new Beta reader was in a bit of a spot and i got a bit lazy last week tbh. I plan to release 2 chapters on this battle, this one being part 1 obviously.**

 **Narut0 Senju: Well the wait is over now! Thanks for the feedback bro. Much obliged.**

 **Samiisthebest: All right, fair point. I will try to pay closer attention to that from here on and ensure my work in the future doesn't have that issue. If you have any specific suggestions on how to address that, it would help me enormously. Thank you for pointing that out.**

 **Disclaimer: Infinite Stratos isn't and never will be mine (if only it was…).**

 **Just to be clear for this fic: if a IS takes either enough damage or is hit in a vital area, it is possible for the user to be injured and even die, despite the presence of energy shields.**

 **It should be noted that quite a few pilots on the American side have only Revive training models with comparatively weak energy shields and weapons (Cause they're rookies and due to personal IS rarity).**

 **Also, I determined what IS the sergeant should pilot and its description:**

 **Since Tycho and Axel have heavy and light units respectively, she will have a sort of hybrid armed with both a large RPG (proportional to the size of an IS) and long retractable forearm blades for quick melee strikes. Her unit is named Deadly Sandstorm, a well-armored, camo colored IS with green eye sockets and a semi-spherical shaped head/helmet.**

 **To the story!**

* * *

 _Here they come!_ Thought Tycho, as he closed his eyes shut in concentration. His silver earring seemed to glow for a few seconds as finally he was in his IS, alert and ready for battle.

 _It's too bad this place is surrounded by a forest of trees… that just gives the enemy more cover to work with._ He thought as he surveyed the site around the facility once more, internalizing the view for the battle.

He noticed Axel dogfighting 2 enemy pilots in the sky and was about to fly up to help him when he spotted two units approaching from the west.

 _He can handle it_ he reasoned as he sped toward the 2 units lance and shield at the ready.

They noticed him pretty quickly and pelted him with a barrage of machine gun fire, which he blocked the bulk of with his shield while maintaining his steady advance.

 _I'll have to take them down quick before their eastern team comes through_ and ignition boosted towards them. When he was directly in front of the lead unit, he bashed it quickly with his shield. As the pilot teetered and tried to regain her footing, he ran his lance through the unit's midsection. Planting his boot on the enemy unit, he pushed hard allowing his lance to come free and sending the unit crashing into a nearby tree a few yards away.

The second pilot used this opportunity to point her machine gun at him. "How dare you defy Phantom Task!" came a mechanical voice from her unit.

 _Shit!_ He thought as he turned to his right, prepared to see his energy shield levels drop quite a bit. Before that could happen, he caught sight of a small object launched at the unit before it exploded, tossing the unit several feet away.

He looked back to see Sergeant Janessa's unit hefting a huge grenade launcher, residual smoke wafting up from the barrel after its recent use. A holoscreen image of her face popped up on the corner of his screen. "You didn't think I would let you have all the fun?" she asked with a smile.

"Sergeant! I thought I told you to remain with the sniper team!"

"Wow, some thanks I get for rescuing you. I came running once I saw you taking these guys on alone. The sniper team is doing fine. They are helping pin down the enemy's eastern team while Axel entertains their air units. The defensive ring around the perimeter is still good." She reported.

He just sighed at that and said "Fine, I appreciate you coming for me." Before they both turned to see the enemy units getting up again, barely damaged and still operational. The unit Tycho pierced had a small gash in its chest, but with its energy shield absorbing the brunt of the blow, didn't cause injury to its user.

"Let's finish them!" cried Sergeant Janessa as they both charged forward.

Tycho noticed something falling towards them on the very top of his screen. His eyes widened in realization as he recognized the falling objects. He turned to tackle Janessa out of the way just as the objects landed and blew up on their former location, leaving large craters in the ground in their wake.

Tycho exhaled in relief. They were a few seconds short of becoming scrap metal from the payload of one of the enemy air units. The air was chocked with smoke and fire lined the impact craters on the ground.

He looked down at Janessa, whom he was still on top of. "Are you alright?" He asked. "That was certainly cutting it close."

She looked up at him "You saved me" she said in what he thought was disbelief.

"Oh come now, it's no big deal. Just returning the favor. Now come on we have work to do." He pushed up off her unit before offering her a hand up.

She took it graciously as they turned around and looked for the enemy units once more.

As the smoke from the bombardment cleared, they noticed that the enemy units they were fighting were no longer there.

"Damn it" Janessa cursed. "They used the bombardment as a chance to regroup and get out of here."

"There's nothing we could do about that. We are lucky we got out of that unscathed." He reasoned. "Now come on, let's see if we can help eliminate the eastern team."

The sergeant nodded as they both took off and flew towards the east of the compound. As they flew, Tycho could see the battle clearly stretched out before him: Axel weaving to avoid enemy missiles while pausing ever so often to launch a volley of his own, as the battle in the skies continued like a dance. He saw the eastern team camped behind some trees return fire on the sniper team at the roof. The sniper team tried to put some holes in the enemy pilots, but to no avail as they were well protected by the tree line. One of the enemy had a grappling line, which it fired and used to pull one of the snipers towards the trees. The enemy pilot proceeded to draw her sword and burrow it into the falling unit's neck.

Tycho grimaced as the sniper's unit short circuited a bit before exploding. _That one might be a handful_ he thought looking at the IS with the grappling hook, as she pulled out an assault rifle and fired a quick sialo of bullets towards the roof before darting back to cover.

They landed just outside the tree line and just as he was about to suggest they engage, the ground started to shake. At first only slightly, but rocking with greater magnitude in a matter of seconds.

 _What the-? What the hell is this? Could it be an earthquake? But we are nowhere near the tectonic plates. And why conveniently now of all times? No, this has to be something else._ He concluded as what looked like a very large IS burst out of the ground with a monstrous shriek.

The IS was, in a word, terrifying. It was a unit in the shape of a worm with a large mouth filed with rows of very large, sharp fangs. It looked to be about three stories long from Tycho's estimate and about 15 feet wide. The unit had a dark purple hue with a scaly underbelly and tough-looking skin around its body. Tycho would be very surprised if it was capable of flight, but from its grand entrance, it proved that it didn't need to fly to get around.

Everyone was transfixed in terror as Tycho read an update that came up on his screen. Unit name: Asuwamu. Known battle data: N/A. He turned his attention back to it just in time to see it lower its head and spit out 3 normal sized IS units it happened to be carrying inside its mouth.

 _Great, as if we didn't have enough problems already._ Thought Tycho darkly. It roared before burrowing underground. The enemy IS units scattered and retreated to cover in the trees nearby.

Just as he was about to pursue them, the ground began to shake again.

"Where the hell is it?" One of the pilots screamed, waving her gun around in fear. Just as she took a few steps back, the giant worm erupted out of the ground underneath her, carrying the pilot into the air in its mouth.

"Aghhh!" she screamed, as Tycho sped forward towards her. He heard a sickening crunch as the Asuwamu bit down on the unit, splitting it in two before tossing the pieces back and swallowing it whole.

Tycho stopped moving forward and clutched his head in agony. His vision was tinted red and his head felt like it was about to spit open. Time itself seemed to slow down around him as his comrades began a desperate battle against the monster of an IS.

" _Tycho. it is time. Let me take control and deliver us a victory"_ Akaoni's voice rumbled like thunder in his head.

"No dammit! When you get like that, you have literally no restraint! Whether it be friend, foe, or bystander you'd just slaughter them all. I can't allow that!"

Akaoni just snarled and said _"I will not let that over-sized insectoid rip us from this world early!"_

They fought for control of his unit as the battle raged on. Axel sped into view overhead and unleashed a hail of missiles at the worm. Sergeant Janessa and the snipers pelted it with grenades and bullets respectively, but it was all for naught as it didn't look like the worm was affected much at all. It roared in response and used its back end to whack a nearby pilot into the front of the compound with enough force to cause part of the wall to collapse onto the IS, burying the pilot from view.

Tycho's vision finally cleared and his head stopped pounding, as his IS stopped struggling against him. _Looks like I held him off this time_

He looked up at the Asuwamu and called out "Hey you! Yeah I'm talking to you, you fat ass worm! I'm going to put you back in the ground where you belong!" as he hefted his lance.

The worm roared at him, before lunging fangs extended.

He just managed to jump out of the way and rolled to his feet. Raising his shield, he caught a glancing blow as one of the worms fangs scraped against it while it slid by him. He looked at his energy shield levels in disbelief as he watched it drop from 92 to 75 percent.

 _I blocked a glancing blow and my energy shield levels dropped that much? This thing really is a monster_ he realized as it picked up another pilot in its jaws. It shook its head back and forth with increasing speed before throwing her into the sky.

 _This is getting out of hand. I have to end this now._ He thought as he called out "Axel! Janessa! Come here for a second!" He yelled before retreating to the cover of some trees just to the west of the carnage.

"What is it?" said Axel landing a few seconds later. He looked like he was nearly out of missiles.

"Sir?" said the sergeant, appearing a few seconds later. She seemed to be running low on ammunition as well.

"Gather around. I think I might have a way for us to beat this thing." _This better work or were all worm grub._ He grimaced at the thought, shook his head, and turned to lay out his plan.

* * *

Less than a minute later after he explained his plan, Axel blurted out "Nah that's not going to work! Did you just see what happened to those other pilots! You will die trying! Let's see if there's another way-"

"There is no other way!" Tycho cut him off. "We have to finish this here before he decimates the whole squad. Now come on!"

Janessa and Axel exchanged skeptical looks before following him.

Tycho stabbed at it once with his lance to get its attention. He jumped back as it lunged after him once more.

He heard the sound of breaking glass as he looked up in time to see an IS tossed out of the window of the compound followed by a small explosion in the building behind it. It was too dark to tell which side the unit belonged to, but apparently the fighting had now moved to the inside of the facility as well.

The worm used this distraction to snap at him with its fangs. He raised his shield reflexively, however it just bit down on it and pulled, wrenching his shield away along with the arm of his IS with it. He looked down at his unit in shock, as the worm head-butted him, tossing his IS to the ground.

Tycho turned the lance horizontally, blocking the machine's gnashing fangs as it went in for the kill. He gritted his teeth as he watched his energy shield levels dip to just 11 percent, warning messages plastered against his screen like red tape.

 _Damn it! Is this the end?_ He thought as the worm continued to bear down on him.

Suddenly, the worm reeled back in surprise as it was hit by a coordinated volley of shots from Janessa and the sniper team in its midsection.

 _Nice one!_ He breathed a sigh of relief, and used the point of his lance as a crutch to push himself off the ground and back on his feet. He then nodded towards the roof in appreciation.

 _Now it's my turn_ he thought as he sped of toward his enemy and jumped directly into the worm's open mouth. It was almost too surprised to react, as Tycho willed his lance to extend and stuck the point it in the roof of its mouth while leaving the bottom held against the base, prying its mouth open and preventing it from biting down.

"Now Axel! It's up to you!" he yelled.

As he jumped out of the worm's mouth to the side, Axel drew his 2 longswords. Putting his arms in front of him, he ignition boosted into the roof of its mouth with enough acceleration to puncture it and burst out through the other side leaving a gaping hole in his wake.

"Checkmate" Axel whispered softly as the gigantic IS crackled with electricity and fell to the ground with a crash.

* * *

 **Alright, well that's part 1 of the fight scene hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **It might be a bit before I update again, as I go back to incorporating more of the cannon story after the fight (though reviewing lets me update faster cause I can assess what I need to do).**

 **Stay tuned though, I will be back sooner than you think.**

 **Ciao people.**


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